Ryan Russell
“In general, I am drawn to the abstract features of the landscape. I look for surprising color and shape relationships and try to capture the fleeting quality of light as it moves through space. I usually work on site, favoring the process of seeing and reacting, and live with the inherent limitations of that process.”
Ryan Russell breaks the rules of traditional landscape painting, often placing emphasis on subjects in the very center of his work, focusing more on geometric shapes and movement rather than on perspective and vanishing points. His bold use of color and brushstrokes gives his pieces an intensely emotional edge. In order to fully capture and internalize a scene, Russell works on site, often in the evening, trying to capture a rapidly changing sunset in sessions he compares to “running a sprint.” In sub-zero temperatures he will don ski apparel and fingerless gloves, breaking only when his paint begins to harden from the cold.
Russell received his M.F.A. in painting and drawing from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia and his B.A. in art and history in from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He has studied independently in Portugal, taught in colleges throughout Virginia and Maryland and acted as assistant director of JMU’s art program abroad in Florence, Italy.